The Moscow Times : Weekly email digest 27 January 2023

 

Dear reader, Welcome to The Moscow Times' weekly email digest, where we bring you the best of our reporting, opinion pieces and photo galleries every week. Here's a roundup of some of the week's top stories: Germany agreed to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in a long-awaited move that prompted Moscow to warn of “escalation” in the war. Mirroring Berlin, the United States said it will also send its Abrams tanks to Kyiv The next day, Ukraine was hit by a blistering wave of Russian strikes that targeted its energy infrastructure and killed 11 people. Russia outlawed the independent news website Meduza as an “undesirable” organization — a label designed to force entities to disband and which puts its staff and financial donors at risk of significant jail time. A Russian court ordered the closure of the Moscow Helsinki Group, one of Russia’s most prominent and respected human rights organizations. Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe to receive our newsletter every Friday. Fear and Frustration in Moscow as Air Defense Systems Deployed The installation of air defense systems in the center of the Russian capital in recent weeks has been met with fear and anger by locals — as well as some indifference — as concerns appear to grow over Ukraine’s military ability to strike deep within Russian territory. Read more. 'Final Nail in the Coffin': Activists Lament Moscow Helsinki Group Closure With its members persecuted by the Soviet authorities, the group was forced to dissolve in 1982, but reformed in the wake of the Soviet collapse in 1989. The relaunched MHG took on a leading role in the protection of human rights in post-Soviet Russia. Read more. Russian Emigres Rally Worldwide in Support of Jailed Navalny Thousands of Russian emigres in more than 60 cities, from Seoul and London to Yerevan, Vilnius and Belgrade, took part in solidarity rallies Saturday in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and other Russian political prisoners. Read more. Residents of Bakhmut, the epicenter of months of fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, struggle to live as the battle rages around them. See more in our gallery. Opinion The Return of Russia's Foreign Agent Paranoia as Biological Imperative By Prodolzhenie Sleduet In biology, the presence of an external enemy, an “alien,” is necessary for the sustained existence of even the simplest communities. But what if there is no obvious external enemy? Read more. Lavrov's Africa Trip Reveals Limits to Russian Soft Power By Ivan U. Klyszcz The tour had an overtly propagandistic element aimed at bolstering Russia's tattered global image — but beyond the messaging, Moscow is limited in what it can actually offer to African states. Read more. Europe's Freedom Depends on Ukraine Winning a Decisive Victory Over Russia By Leonid Gozman If Putin attains his goal of destroying Ukraine, he will not be satisfied but will continue "reclaiming what's his." Read more. Before we go... The Moscow Times has been independent for our entire 30-year history. That means we rely on support from our readers to continue producing original, high-quality reporting like the stories you've received in this email. Contribute today By making a donation today — or setting up a recurring donation — you are helping ensure that we can keep reporting on Russia at a time when the world needs accurate news from this country more than ever. Thank you for supporting our work!